Michael Saylor Warns Bitcoin Protocol Changes Could Undermine Network Security

Strategy founder Michael Saylor said Bitcoin’s most significant long-term threat stems from internal efforts to alter the network’s consensus rules, arguing that such changes could undermine the cryptocurrency’s core economic and security model.

Saylor likened Bitcoin’s consensus rules to a constitution, saying they establish the fundamental principles that protect the network. He opposed proposals such as BIP-110, expanded covenant functionality, and larger block sizes, contending that they could erode transaction freedom, reduce blockspace scarcity, weaken network security, and increase both validation costs and potential attack surfaces.

He also emphasized the importance of preserving Bitcoin’s transaction-fee market as the network’s block subsidy continues to decline with halvings every 210,000 blocks. According to Saylor, miners will increasingly depend on transaction fees to secure the network, and measures that weaken fee generation could pose risks to Bitcoin’s long-term security.

Saylor said Bitcoin’s base layer should remain neutral, simple, secure, and scarce, with new functionality developed through solutions built on top of the protocol rather than through frequent changes to its core rules. He added that any modifications to the protocol should be undertaken only when necessary and with a conservative approach.

Source: Michael Saylor